Series Preview: CCCAA Super Regional Round Two

The Citrus College Softball team was given the #14 seed in the 2013 California Community College Softball Southern California playoffs, and after knocking off #3 seed Cypress College in the opening round last weekend, advance to the Super Regionals for the first time in program history. The Owls will be participating in a four team double elimination tournament Friday – Sunday with the winning team earning the right to advance to the 2013 CCCAA State Softball Championships. Citrus opens up the weekend on Friday at 5:30 PM against #1 seed Riverside City College. For the complete bracket, click here.

About the Matchup
Citrus has the possibility of playing three different schools this weekend. The Owls will definitely take on #1 Riverside come Friday, but could also square off with #5 College of the Canyons and #6 Santiago Canyon College at some point during the weekend. All are schools that Citrus has played this year.

vs Riverside
Friday's meeting would be the second game of the year between the Owls and Tigers and 11th meeting overall between the two schools since the 2007 season. In that stretch, Riverside is 7-3 against Citrus, interestingly though; all three of the Owls' wins against the Tigers have come in Riverside, where the Tigers are 4-3 against Citrus. Earlier this year, the Owls had a tough go of it against the Tigers, as Riverside held Citrus hitless for the only time of the year en route to a 15-0 victory. The two schools also have a post-season history, having met up in Riverside last year in the opening round last year in 2012. Citrus won the first game of the best two out of three series, but Riverside came back and won both games on Sunday 2-1 and 6-4.

vs Canyons
If Citrus ends up meeting College of the Canyons this weekend it would be the fourth meeting this year, and the 22nd meeting overall between the two schools since the 2007 season. The Cougars swept the seasons series with the Owls this year, and hold a 12-9 record against Citrus since'07. Canyons defeated the Owls by large margins in their opening double-header in 2013, but the Owls nearly knocked off Canyons at Citrus in the regular season finale between the two schools, before the Cougars stormed back to grab a 14-12 victory with 10 runs over the final two innings. The loss to College of the Canyons, was Citrus' last loss this year.

vs Santiago Canyon
If the Owls meet up with the Hawks at some point this weekend, it would be the second game of the year between the two schools and just the fourth overall since the 2007 season. In the previous three meetings, Santiago Canyon is 2-1 against Citrus, including a 9-1 win over the Owls on their home field back in mid-March. The Owls were held to just two hits which was the second lowest total of the year, a number only eclipsed by Citrus' effort at Riverside.

About the Tigers
Riverside comes into this weekend as the #1 overall seed in Southern California and entered the post-season as the favorite in the South. The Tigers are currently 38-3 and were the co-Orange Empire Conference Champions along with Cypress College. Riverside advanced to the Super Regionals after sweeping #16 Ventura College 8-2 and 2-1. The Tigers are led by State Player of the Year Natalie Barrios (.492 | 55 RBI's | 20 HR | 21 SB's) and Orange Empire Conference Pitcher of the Year and All-State selection Chelsea Ponce (21-2 | 1.52 ERA | 117 K's).

About the Cougars
Canyons entered the post-season as the #5 seed in Southern California and conference in the Western State Conference Blue Division Champions. The Cougars opened up the playoffs at home against #12 Saddleback College. Canyons lost the opening game 14-5 in five innings, but stormed back on Sunday with 12-0 and 13-0 wins over the Gauchos.  WSC Blue Pitcher of the Year and All-State selection Kimmie Lockhart has been the Cougars' workhorse in the circle this year going 23-5 with a 3.44 ERA and 173 strikeouts on the year. Offensively, Ashley Sandoval-Colon leads the charge for a squad that bats .412 as a team. Sandoval-Colon was named to the All-Southern California team and batted .433 with 36 RBI's and 14 SB's.

About the Hawks
Under the direction of Orange Empire Conference Coach of the Year Lisa Camarco, Santiago Canyon just concluded one its best seasons in program history going 32-9. The Hawks were granted the #6 seed in the South and dispatched #11 Grossmont College in two games last weekend. Santiago Canyon slugged seven total home runs during the weekend including three from Morgan McGee. The Hawks are led by dual threat Terry-Lee Rahe who posted an 11-3 record in the circle, while batting .477 with 40 RBI's.

Big Boppers
While there is some standout pitching in this weekend's Super Regional, it's the offenses that everyone should fear. All four teams were ranked in the Top 16 in the State in total team home runs. Riverside leads the pack with 57, while Citrus checked in with 40 on the year. Canyons slugged 34 big flies this season, and Santiago Canyon put 32 balls past the outfield fence. Individually, the top three home runner hitters in the State will be involved in this weekend's Super Regional, with Natalie Barrios of Riverside leading the pack at 20 on the year. Citrus' Kawehi Ephan is right on her heels with 19 so far this season, while Barrios' teammate Katherine Macias is third with 16. In addition, these are three of the highest scoring teams from the previous weekend. Combined, the four teams scored 76 total runs over nine games last weekend for an average of 8.44 runs per game.

Seeding by the Numbers
If the Citrus College Softball team is to make it through this weekend's Super Regional they would be the first double digit seeded team to advance that far since they went to the traditional set-up they currently have in place for the CCCAA State Softball Championships in 2007. The highest seeded to make it all the way to State Championships was #9 College of the Siskiyous back in 2010. In 2012, Riverside was a #5 seed, while 2009 saw a #6 seed from the North (Ohlone College) qualify for the State Championships in what at that time was an eight team format (four from the North, four from the South). Other than those three examples though, all teams have been at least a #4 seed or better.

How to Follow
There are three ways to follow this weekend's action. The first is to follow the Official Citrus College Athletics Twitter Page @ccfightingowls which will be updated throughout the weekend. In addition, the scoreboard on the front page of CitrusOwls.com will be updated in between each inning. Lastly, you can join the Owls live in person at Riverside City College. General Admission is $8. Students, faculty, staff, senior citizens 60+, and children 5-12 with valid ID are $5. Children under five are free of charge.